Merchandising cabinet

ABSTRACT

A merchandising cabinet, e.g., an ice cream dipping cabinet, having a transparent window means and a curved transparent lid closing the upper front and top of the cabinet and permitting the contents of the cabinet to be viewed by both the customer and the server with the lid opened or closed. The window means extends the length of the cabinet and comprises a front window extending upwardly at the upper front of the cabinet and a top window extending back from the top of the front window to a position above and forward of the top of the back cabinet wall providing an opening for access to the containers by the server. The curved transparent lid is slidably mounted on curved track means at its ends for sliding movement between a closed position in which the lid blocks the opening and an open position in which a customer may view the containers through the window means and the lid.

United States Patent 1 Musgrave et al.

[s41 MERCHANDISING CABINET [75] Inventors: Donald A. Musgrave; Paul S.Mc-

Clain, both of Conway, Ark.

73 Assignee: UMC' Industries, Inc., New York,

22 Filed: June7, 1971 21 App1.No.: 150,279

[52] U.S. Cl ..3l2/l16, 312/138 R, 312/296 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47f 3/04[58] Field of Search ..312/1 14, 116, 138 R, 312/296, 350

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,534,488 12/1950 Weber..3l2/l38 R X 1,499,365 7/1924 Gustus ..3l2/116 981,486 l/1911 Shaner..312/138R 2,438,972 4/1948 -H0ffman..... ...3l2/l38 R X 2,492,69512/1949 Henderson 3l2/l 16 UX Primary Examiner-James C. MitchellAttorney-Koenig, Senniger, Powers Leavitt 57 ABSTRACT A merchandisingcabinet, e.g., an ice cream dipping cabinet, having a transparent windowmeans and a curved transparent lid closing the upper front and top ofthe cabinet and permitting the contents of the cabinet to be viewed byboth the customer and the server with the lid opened or closed. Thewindow means extends the length of the cabinet and comprises a frontwindow extending upwardly at the upper front of the cabinet and a topWindow extending back from the top of the front window to a positionabove and forward of the top of theback cabinet wall providing anopening for access to the containers by the server. The curvedtransparent lid is slidably mounted on curved track means at its endsfor sliding movement between a closed position in which the lid blocksthe opening and an open position in which a customer may view thecontainers through the window means and the lid.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SSSSSSSSSSSS bl Patented April 24, 1972.

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.4

Patented A ril 24, 1973 3,729,243

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MERCHANDIZING CABINET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to merchandising cabinets, and more particularly to arefrigerated cabinet for storing and displaying containers of ice cream,or novelty ice cream items and the like, from which ice cream may behand dipped or from which the ice cream novelties or the like may bedispensed.

This invention is particularly concerned with an ice cream dippingcabinet having a transparent lid permitting both the customer and theserver to view the ice cream within the cabinet with the lid closed oropen. Heretofore, such prior art dipping cabinets have primarilyutilized three types of transparent lids: (A) lids hinged at the frontof the cabinet and rotatable upwardly toward the customer; (B) lidsmounted one above the other on tracks which extend lengthwise of thecabinet for horizontal sliding movement of the lids endwise of thecabinet; and (C) inclined lids comprising the rear portion of atransparent hood assembly with the inclined lid pivotally attached tothe cabinet for being rotated toward the front of the cabinet to provideaccess to the cabinet. The principal disadvantages of theabove-mentioned lids are that the hinged lids (A) in their open positionproject substantially above the cabinet blocking the exchange of moneyand merchandise between the server and the customer and interfering withaccess to the merchandise in the cabinet by the server; the horizontaltrack mounted lids (B) inherently prevent access to some portions of thecompartment since one of the lids must be moved above or below the otherto provide access to the cabinet; and the pivoted inclined lids (C) mustbe manually held against slamming closed or open as the lid is swungbetween its open and its closed position; they require excessive cabinetheight to allow clearance for the pivoting of the lid, and a framingarrangement with end panels to ac commodate the pivoting of the lidsubstantially interfering with and reducing the customer's view of theproduct; and the lids are difficult to handle when removed from thecabinet for cleaning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the several objects of this invention maybe noted the provision of an improved refrigerated merchandising cabinetadapted to store and display merchandise to be dispensed therefrom(e.g., containers of ice cream to be hand dipped) having window meansand a lid permitting both the customer and the server to view themerchandise in the cabinet with the lid open or closed; the provision ofsuch a cabinet having a lid which when open is out of the way and doesnot block the exchange of money or merchandise between the server andthe customer or access to the merchandise by the server; the provisionof such a cabinet having a lid which when open permits access to anycontainer in the cabinet; the provision of such a cabinet in which theframing means mounting the lid and window means is such as to permit aclear view of the merchandise in the cabinet; and the provision of sucha cabinet having a lid which is easily removable from the cabinet forcleaning purposes.

In general, a merchandising cabinet of this invention, particularly acabinet for containers of ice cream to be hand dipped, has a front wallwhich faces toward the customer, a back wall which faces toward theserver and end walls. The walls define a compartment for the containers.The end walls have upper portions which extend upwardly above the upperedges of the front and back walls. The cabinet has fixed window meansextending between the upper portions of the end walls toward the frontof the cabinet extending upwardly from the upper edge of the front walland back in the direction of the back wall. The window means has anupper rear edge spaced above and forward of the upper edge of the backwall to provide an opening for access to the containers from the back ofthe cabinet. The cabinet includes means for closing this opening comprising at least one transparent curved lid and curved track meansengaging the end portions of the lid for guiding the lid for slidingarcuate movement between a closed position in which the rear edge of thelid is adjacent the upper edge of the back wall and the front portion ofthe lid is below and adjacent the upper rear edge of the window means,and an open position in which the rear edge of the lid is below andadjacent the upper rear edge of the window means and the front edge ofthe lid is below the window means and adjacent the front of the cabinetthereby permitting the customer to view the containers from the front ofthe cabinet when the lid is in its open position.

Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointedout hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, a merchandising cabinet madein accordance with this invention, indicated in its entirety by thereference numeral 1, and more particularly a cabinet adapted to storeand display containers (not shown) of ice cream or other merchandise(e.g., ice cream novelties or other frozen foods), is shown to have afront wall 3 facing toward a customer (its left side as shown in FIG.2), a back wall 5 facing toward a server, and end walls 7. The wallsdefine a compartment generally indicated at 9 for the ice creamcontainers, and it will be understood that the cabinet includes means(not shown) for refrigerating this compartment. The end walls 7 haveupper portions indicated at 7a which extend up above the upper edges 1 land 13, respectively, of the front and back wall. The cabinet includesfixed window means generally indicated at 15, extending the length ofthe cabinet between the upper portions 7a of the end walls toward thefront of the cabinet, and extending upwardly from the upper edge 11 ofthe front wall and .back in the direction toward the back wall. Theupperrear edge 17 of the window means is spaced above the level of andforward of the upper edge 13 of the back wall to provide an opening foraccess to the merchandise from the back of the cabinet. The opening 0may be closed by means indicated generally at 19, shown as comprisingtwo curved transparent lids each designated 21. Each curved lid ismounted on curved track means, generally indicated at 23, supporting theend portions of the lid for guiding the lid for arcuate sliding movement(as indicated by the arrow in FIGS. 2 and 3) between a closed position(the position of the righthand lid in FIG. 1 and as shown in FIG. 2) inwhich the rear edge of the lid is adjacent the upper edge 13 of the backwall and the front portion of the lid is below and adjacent the upperrear edge 17 of the window means, and an open position (the position ofthe left-hand lid in FIG. 1 and as shown in FIG. 3) in which the rearedge of the lid is adjacent and below the upper rear edge 17 of thewindow means and the front edge of the lid is below the upper part ofthe window means adjacent the front portion of the cabinet. With the lidin its open position, the customer may view the containers withincompartment 9 by looking through both the window means and thetransparent lid.

More particularly, each of the front, back and end walls 3, 5 and 7 isthermally insulated as indicated at in FIGS. 2 and 3, and has an insidepanel or liner constituted by a respective wall of a receptacleindicated generally at 27. This receptacle, which is of'rectangularshape in plan and open at the top, has a bottom (not shown) and front,back and end walls which constitute the stated inside panels of thewalls 3, 5 and 7. The receptacle 27, which may be referred to as a tubliner, may be formed of sheet metal, for example. It constitutes thecompartment 9 for the containers of ice cream. An insert 29, which maybe molded in one piece of fiberglas-reinforced plastic, for example,extends between the upper portions 7a of the walls 7 of the cabinet.This insert includes end panels 31 which are disposed on the inside ofportions 7a as liners therefor. Extending between these end panels 31 atthe lower front thereof is a sill 33 for-the top of the front wall 3,and extending between these panels at the back thereof is a sill 35 forthe top of the back wall 5. The lower edge of the insert 29 and theupper edge of the tub liner 27 are joined together by an extruded strip37 of resilient plastic having low thermal conductivity disposed betweenthe edges of the insert and the tub liner to reduce the flow of heatfrom the relatively warm insert to the refrigerated tub liner. The striphas a flat inner face 39 providing for a relatively flush interfacebetween insert 29 and tub liner 27 and beads 40 extending through thelast-said interface engaging the back sides of the insert and the tubliner for holding the strip in place. A protective cover 41 (made ofstainless steel, for example) is applied to the sill 35.

The window means 15 comprises a front window pane 43 extending upwardlyand inclined slightly rearwardly from the top of the front wall 3, and atop window pane 45 extending horizontally rearwardly from the top of thefront window pane 43. This top window pane 45 may be used as a servingcounter on which money or merchandise may be placed during the sale. Thefront window pane has its lower edge sealed in a channel-sectionglazing' strip 47 which extends along a front horizontal portion of thesill 33 at the top of the front wall 3, and has its upper edge sealed ina channel 49 of a double-channel glazing strip 51 extending between theupper portions of the cabinet end walls 7 at the top and front thereof.Its ends are sealed in glazing channels 53 on the panels 31 on theinside of portions 7a. The top window pane 45 has its front edge sealedin the second channel 55 of the glazing strip 51. Its rear edge bears ontop of a fluorescent lamp housing 57 extending between the upperportions 70 of the end walls 7 of the cabinet at the top thereof, thishousing being centered slightly in front of the median endwise plane ofthe cabinet, and is held down and sealed by a strip 59. Its ends aresealed in glazing channels 61 on the panels 31.

The opening 0 is between the top 13 of the back wall 5 of the cabinetand the back of the housing 57. Each curved lid 21 is slidable on itsrespective track means between the closed position (FIG. 2) in which itextends on an arc from the top of the back wall 5 to a point just belowthe back portion of the housing 57 and the open position (FIG. 3) inwhich it extends on an are from a point just below the back of thehousing 57 to a point adjacent the front window pane 43 somewhat abovethe mid-point of the height of pane 43. Each of the end panels 31 of theinsert 29 is formed with an arcuate ledge 63 constituting end supportsof the track means 23, this ledge curving forwardly and upwardly on anarc of a circle from a forwardly and upwardly facing inclined face 65 ofthe top 13 of the back wall 5 of the cabinet below the housing 57 andthen curving downwardly to the stated point adjacent the front windowpane 43. Seated on each of these arcugite ledges 63 and extendingthroughout the length of the ledge with the same curvature is a lockplate 67 of such width as to project inwardly beyond the inner edge ofthe ledge. Seated on each plate 67 is a rail 69 which may be a suitableplastic extrusion of channel shape in section having upwardly extendinginside and outside flanges 71 and 73 with the outside flange higher thanthe inside flange.'Each of the two lids 21 has its outer end marginbearing slidably on the inside flange 71 of the respective rail, andrestrained against outward endwise movement by the outer flange 73. Theinner end of each lid bears on the flange 71 of a similar curved rail 69mounted on a curved bridge member 75 of the cabinet extending from thetop of the back wall 5 to a point forward of the housing centrally ofthe length of the cabinet. As appears in FIG. 4, this curved bridgemember is generally of cruciform cross section, having ledge portions 77on opposite sides supporting the rails 69 for the inner ends of the twolids 21. It is suitably supported from the housing 57 by the bracket asin dicated at 79 in FIG. 3.

At its rear edge, each lid 21 carries means for releasably retaining iton its respective track means,

this means permitting easy removal of the lid when so desired forcleaning or other purposes. As shown best in FIGS. 4 and 5, this meanscomprises an elongate channel 81 secured on the rear margin of the lidextending its full length. Extending down from this channel is a web 83formed at its lower margin with a partcylindrical lock bolt housing 85.This slot in this partcylindrical housing is indicated at 87. A lockbolt 89 is slidable endwise in housing 85 at the outer end thereofbetween an extended locking position, wherein it extends out of the endof the housing underneath the respective lock plate 67, and a retractedposition withdrawn into the housing 85 clear of the lock plate 67. Asimilar lock bolt 89 is slidable endwise in the housing 85 at the innerend thereof between an extended locking position wherein it extends outof the end of the housing underneath the respective ledge portion 77 ofthe bridge 75, this ledge portion thus serving as a lock plate similarlyto 67. Each bolt has a finger 91 engageable in a notch 93 extending downfrom the slot 87 for holding the bolt in its extended locking position,and is adapted to be moved endwise by swinging the finger up into theslot 87.

A handle 95 extends up from the channel 81, and an elongate resilienttubular sealing and bumper member 97 is provided on the back of thechannel extending the full length thereof engageable with the inclinedface 65 of the sill 35 of the back wall 5 when the lid is closed. Thefully open position of the lid 21 is determined by engagement of itshandle 95 with a resilient tubular bumper member 99 mounted on the lowerrear part of the housing 57 extending through its length. Formedintegrally with this bumper member is a flexible resilient sealing lip101 which is inherently biased down into sealing engagement with the topsurface of the lid. Members 97 and 99 may be extruded members ofsuitable plastic material.

Either of the two lids 21 may be easily moved from its closed to itsopen position for access to the compartment 9 by pushing on the handle95 to slide the lid forward on its rails 69, the lid being held down onthe rails by the disposition of the lock bolts 89 underneath the lockplate 67 and ledge 77. The lid is generally slid forward to its fullopen position determined by engagement of the handle 95 with the bumpermember 99, which cushions its arrest. The lid 21 is easily closed bytaking hold of the handle 95 and pulling it back to slide the lid backto the point where the sealing and bumper member 97 engages the inclinedface 65 of the top 13 of the back wall 5. This provides a seal at theback of the lid, and resilient lip 101 provides a seal at the front ofthe lid. Engagement of the lid 21 with the rails 69 provides seals atthe ends of the lid. Either lid may be easily removed from the cabinetby moving it to its open position, and sliding the lock bolts 89 totheir retracted positions. The lid is then moved to its closed position,the back edge of the lid is lifted vertically clear of the top of theback wall 5, and the lid is then readily moved rearward out of thecabinet.

While a cabinet with two lids is shown, it will of course be understoodthat the principles of the invention are applicable to a cabinet withone lid (as would generally be the case with shorter cabinets). in acabinet with a single lid, bridge 75 is omitted and the lid extends fromone end wall 7 to the other.

Furthermore, it will be understood that windows (not shown) could beprovided in the upper end walls 7a for viewing of the merchandise withinthe cabinet from its ends as well as from its front and back walls.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

What is claimed is:

l. A merchandising cabinet, particularly for containers of ice cream tobe hand dipped, having a front wall, a back wall, and end walls, saidwalls being thermally insulated and defining a compartment for thecontainers, said end walls having upper portions extending upwardlyabove the upper edges of the front and back walls, fixed window meansextending endwise between the upper portions of the end walls at thefront of the cabinet and extending upwardly from the upper edge of thefront wall and back in the direction of the back wall and having itsupper rear edge spaced above the level of and forward of the top of theback wall to provide an opening for access to the compartment from theback of the cabinet, and means for closing said opening comprising atleast one transparent curved lid, and curved track means supporting thelid at its end and guiding the lid for arcuate sliding movement betweena closed position in which the lid extends forward and upward on an arcfrom the top of the back wall to a point below and adjacent the upperrear edge of said window means and an open position in which the lidextends forward and downward on an are from a point below and adjacentthe upper rear edge of the window to a point adjacent the front of thecabinet in back of and below said window means, whereby a customerstanding at the front of the cabinet may view the containers through thewindow means when the lid is closed and through .the window means andthe lid when the lid is open, the curved track means at each end of thelid consisting of a single track only so that the lid is adapted to beremoved by lifting it and moving it rearward out of the cabinet.

2. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 1 having meansproviding a seal between the front portion of the lid and the upper rearedge of the window means when the lid is closed, and means providing aseal between the rear of the lid and the top of the back wall when thelid is closed, the front seal means comprising a flexible resilientsealing lip extending endwise of the cabinet adjacent the upper rearedge of the window means resiliently engaging the upper surface of thelid, the latter being in sliding sealing engagement with the lip.

3. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 1 having means forreleasably retaining the .lid on said track means, said retaining meansincluding means on the lid extending underneath said track means andbeing retractable from underneath said track means when the lidis'opened.

4. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 3 wherein saidlid-retaining means comprises a pair of lock plates projecting inwardlyfrom said track means, and a pair oflock bolts carried by the lid at itsrear edge and below the lid movable between a locking position extendingunderneath the lock plates and a retracted position clear of the lockplates.

5. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 1, wherein-said windowmeans comprises a first window pane extending up from the top of saidfront wall and a second window pane extending back from the top of thefirst pane, having a fluorescent lamp housing ,extending between the endwalls at the top thereof and located in a plane intermediate the frontand back walls, the top pane extending back to said lamp housing, andhaving means providing a seal between the lamp housing and the frontportion of the lid, and means providing a seal between the rear of thelid and the top of the back wall when the lid is closed.

6. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim wherein said front sealmeans comprises a flexible resilient sealing lip extending lengthwise ofsaid lamp housing and downwardly therefrom, the lid being in slidingsealing engagement with the lip.

7. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 5 wherein the rear sealmeans comprises a resilient sealing and bumper member at the rear edgeof the lid engageable with the upper edge of the back wall when the lidis closed, and having a handle extending up from the rear of the lidengageable with a bumper on the rear of the lamp housing when the lid isopened.

8. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 7 having a moldedplastic insert for the top of the cabinet comprising end panels whichare disposed on the inside of the end walls and portions extendingbetween the end panels capping the front and back walls, said end panelsbeing formed with arcuate ledges, and each said track comprising a railon the respective said arcuate ledge.

9. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 8 having two lidsside-by-side, the inner ends of the lids being slidable on curved railson abridge extending forward from the back wall at the center of lengthof the cabinet.

10. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 9 having means forreleasably retaining each lid on its respective rails comprising lockplates on the ledges and bridge and locking bolt means carried by eachlid at its rear edge and below the lid movable between an extendedlocking position underneath the lock plates and a retracted positionclear of the lock plates.

1. A merchandising cabinet, particularly for containers of ice cream tobe hand dipped, having a front wall, a back wall, and end walls, saidwalls being thermally insulated and defining a compartment for thecontainers, said end walls having upper portions extending upwardlyabove the upper edges of the front and back walls, fixed window meansextending endwise between the upper portions of the end walls at thefront of the cabinet and extending upwardly from the upper edge of thefront wall and back in the direction of the back wall and having itsupper rear edge spaced above the level of and forward of the top of theback wall to provide an opening for access to the compartment from theback of the cabinet, and means for closing said opening comprising atleast one transparent curved lid, and curved track means supporting thelid at its end and guiding the lid for arcuate sliding movement betweena closed position in which the lid extends forward and upward on an arcfrom the top of the back wall to a point below and adjacent the upperrear edge of said window means and an open position in which the lidextends forward and downward on an arc from a point below and adjacentthe upper rear edge of the window to a point adjacent the front of thecabinet in back of and below said window means, whereby a customerstanding at the front of the cabinet may view the containers through thewindow means when the lid is Closed and through the window means and thelid when the lid is open, the curved track means at each end of the lidconsisting of a single track only so that the lid is adapted to beremoved by lifting it and moving it rearward out of the cabinet.
 2. Amerchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 1 having means providing aseal between the front portion of the lid and the upper rear edge of thewindow means when the lid is closed, and means providing a seal betweenthe rear of the lid and the top of the back wall when the lid is closed,the front seal means comprising a flexible resilient sealing lipextending endwise of the cabinet adjacent the upper rear edge of thewindow means resiliently engaging the upper surface of the lid, thelatter being in sliding sealing engagement with the lip.
 3. Amerchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 1 having means forreleasably retaining the lid on said track means, said retaining meansincluding means on the lid extending underneath said track means andbeing retractable from underneath said track means when the lid isopened.
 4. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 3 wherein saidlid-retaining means comprises a pair of lock plates projecting inwardlyfrom said track means, and a pair of lock bolts carried by the lid atits rear edge and below the lid movable between a locking positionextending underneath the lock plates and a retracted position clear ofthe lock plates.
 5. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 1,wherein said window means comprises a first window pane extending upfrom the top of said front wall and a second window pane extending backfrom the top of the first pane, having a fluorescent lamp housingextending between the end walls at the top thereof and located in aplane intermediate the front and back walls, the top pane extending backto said lamp housing, and having means providing a seal between the lamphousing and the front portion of the lid, and means providing a sealbetween the rear of the lid and the top of the back wall when the lid isclosed.
 6. A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 5 wherein saidfront seal means comprises a flexible resilient sealing lip extendinglengthwise of said lamp housing and downwardly therefrom, the lid beingin sliding sealing engagement with the lip.
 7. A merchandising cabinetas set forth in claim 5 wherein the rear seal means comprises aresilient sealing and bumper member at the rear edge of the lidengageable with the upper edge of the back wall when the lid is closed,and having a handle extending up from the rear of the lid engageablewith a bumper on the rear of the lamp housing when the lid is opened. 8.A merchandising cabinet as set forth in claim 7 having a molded plasticinsert for the top of the cabinet comprising end panels which aredisposed on the inside of the end walls and portions extending betweenthe end panels capping the front and back walls, said end panels beingformed with arcuate ledges, and each said track comprising a rail on therespective said arcuate ledge.
 9. A merchandising cabinet as set forthin claim 8 having two lids side-by-side, the inner ends of the lidsbeing slidable on curved rails on a bridge extending forward from theback wall at the center of length of the cabinet.
 10. A merchandisingcabinet as set forth in claim 9 having means for releasably retainingeach lid on its respective rails comprising lock plates on the ledgesand bridge and locking bolt means carried by each lid at its rear edgeand below the lid movable between an extended locking positionunderneath the lock plates and a retracted position clear of the lockplates.